Joseph Mallozzi's Blog, page 534

July 19, 2011: Another Transporter production update!

Whoa!  It's a pretty crazy idea.  As far as crazy ideas go, it's certainly not the craziest I've had – but it does rank up there with the very craziest.  But more on that in a second.

Okay, so I'm full into prep on episode #102 (Carl Binder's 12 Hours). Today, I spent the early morning hours incorporating the french dialogue into episodes #104 and #105 (Thanks to the lovely Sarah for doing all the heavy lifting), then moved on to a tone meeting for 12 Hours.  We sat in a room and went through the script, scene by scene, line by line, discussing character motivations, subtexts, and deliveries. That took us to noon and…lunch time!  Of course just because it was time for lunch didn't mean we had time to eat lunch.  We moved upstairs for a stunts meeting with Cyril Raffaelli in which we discussed the means by which we could make the most effective use of his incredible talent.  We went over the fight sequences in 12 Hours including the BIG ONE (I re-jigged the shooting schedule to give him an entire day on that one).  As Cyril and his right hand man, MoMo, headed off to check out the location (As I told Cyril, the scripted fight sequences should serve as a guide more than bible.  He's great at improvising so he should feel free to be inspired by the room and its various potential props – fire extinguishers, vacuum hoses, detachable floor panels – in constructing his colorful fight sequences), I grabbed a sandwich, then returned to the office where I fielded a gaggle of emails and phone calls on everything from auditions to the ongoing script rewrites.  From there, it was off to the extras meeting where we discussed low-lifes, young techies, and Swiss border guards.

So, I was about to sit down to write that (new) closing scene of #104 when I was alerted to some production concerns related to my forthcoming shooting block – episodes #103 (Sharks) and #106 (Payback).  They're both my scripts and, alas, don't exactly marry well in the shooting schedule.  Unfortunately, they're like geeks at the prom.  While they may not go well with each, they don't exactly go well with any other episodes either.

A little aside here to elaborate on what I'm talking about.  At the script stage, most of the issues are creative and you do your best to address network concerns, notes, and requests.  Once you move into prep, the episode begins to take shape in the form of preliminary budgets, schedules, and timings.  And so, the trick is to make sure said episode isn't over budget, doesn't take too long to shoot, and doesn't time short.  Often, attempts to adjust issues related to one category will result in a ripple effect over others.  For instance, if the episode is looking like it's going to take too long to shoot (ie. an extra day), the obvious answer is to lose a couple of locations and tighten the script. Okay, but what if you're timing short?  Losing those locations and tightening the script will help you make your days (and also bring down the episode budget) but it will make the episode even shorter.  So what do you do?

This is what producing is all about: sitting in a pub in Hamilton, eating lunch during a location scout, disassembling the preliminary shooting schedule and rearranging the various scenes, marrying nearby locations to avoid big costly moves, and reassembling the pieces to form a schedule that will allow for very makable days including one whole day dedicated to that BIG fight sequence.  But don't get ahead of yourself, because once those departmental budgets come in, it'll be time to revisit the script to take another, longer look at all of the many small elements that add up.  You have to ask yourself: Do I really need six gorillas or will two suffice?  Does the tank really have to crush two dozen SUV's instead of, say, a dozen sedans?  Does the villain's office chair have to be made out of real gold?

And, of course, all the while you're making the changes to ensure the script is awesome, producable, and on budget, you're still receiving broadcaster notes.

So, while Paul is on set producing episode 101 (Pilot), I figured I'd jump on the rewrites of the next two scripts he'll be producing (104 and 105) between prep meetings.  A great idea – until I realized that while that's all well and good for him, it's not so good for me as I'll still have to do my rewrite of Payback and final pass on Sharks while I'm on set producing 12 Hours!

As I was wrestling with that reality, I was informed of the Shark/Payback block-shooting issue.  To those of you who don't know, block shooting involves shooting two (sometimes more) episodes simultaneously to take advantage of like locations.  For instance, if we're in a parking garage in both episodes, we can shoot scenes for both episodes in the same place by altering the look of the location. It's a quicker, more efficient way of  shooting these episodes which, in turn, allows us to shave time off our production schedule (and, in turn, dedicate it to other episodes in the form of extra days or savings that can be splurged on that big visual effects shot of Frank fighting atop the Eiffel Tower).  All this to say block-shooting is great if you have episodes with similar locations.  It's not so great if you have two episodes (say, Sharks and Payback) that have very dissimilar locations.  When that happens, you've got to think out of the box…

Which brings me to that crazy idea I had.  Granted, it's crazy and will, in all probability, kill me – but if it works…

Anyway, waiting to hear word back from Rob, Alex, and Paul on the subject.  But they've got to get back to me fast.  I'm going to have to move quickly…

Hey, here are those pictures of yesterday's location scout…

Hmmm. A seemingly innocuous path.

Tim. Sassy.

The Devil's Punchbowl.

I shot this from a distance. No way am I getting anywhere near the edge. The very thought of this sequence makes me dizzy.

Anna, already thinking about lunch.

Shades of North By Northwest!

Director Bruce McDonald discusses options...

Okay, off to squeeze in a work-out, a couple of dog-walks, and then it's on to that (new) final scene for 104.

I'm sure that once that's done, it'll be smooooooooooooooooooooooth sailing!

July 18, 2011: My Akemi pictorial!

Akemi is all about the cute accessories - in this case, Ralakkuma (Relaxed Bear). I envy that damn bear.

This is the face Akemi makes when she realizes she's done something wrong like failed to communicate effectively in English or finished the last of avocado.

She makes THIS face about every tenth picture, signaling the fact that she's getting tired of my taking her photo. I guess she assumes I'll think they're too goofy to post. Quite the opposite!

Don't recall what she was reaching for here. My hand? The camera? My Star Trek insignia?

Oooh, this one I love. She's like an anime character come to life. One who has apparently waited much too long for her dinner.

Occasionally, she'll do this thing where she'll eat something like a squirrel or chipmunk. To wit...

She makes creative use of beet juice residue, leftover mushrooms from the cheese pizza, and the sprouts I picked off my cole slaw to create her own petit plat. Joel Robuchon would be proud. Well, maybe not Joel Robuchon but the guy who plates his stuff.

Akemi after trying the habanero sauce at Rodney's Oyster House - and then polishing off the entire bread basket in an attempt to put out the fire.

Another exhausting day.  Got in at 8:00 this morning, made some more tweaks to episode 102, attended the costume meeting for the episode, then headed off to lovely Hamilton for a location scout, got back late this afternoon, worked on the rewrites of episodes 104 and 105, attended a way-too-long props meeting, rushed to pick up the dog, ate dinner in fifteen minutes, then capped my day with an hour-long conference call.  It's a wonder I still have time for this blog. Seriously.

Tomorrow – picks from lovely Hamilton!

July 17, 2011: The Transporter – another Stargate connection! Dog pics! Catching up with the mailbag!

As many of you know, the new show I'm working on – The Transporter – has a few Stargate connections.  In addition to Paul and I who are show running the series (alongside Alexander M. Ruemelin), there's Executive Producer Robert Cooper and series director Andy Mikita.  And now, another tenuous connection of sorts.  The director of the series pilot is the amazing Stephen Williams -

If he looks familiar, it may be the family resemblance.  His brother, Peter, played the villainous Apophis in Stargate: SG-1.

Yeah!  Japan wins the Women's World Cup in dramatic fashion.  Let's celebrate with dog pics and a mailbag!

Bubba demonstrating boorish behavior. Where's that dog whisperer guy?

Lulu's "Whatcha lookin' at?" look. My response: "The goop in your left eye."

Mailbag:

cwillmanbunge writes: "Nothing personal, but when it comes to series finales the ones for SG-1, SGA, and SGU were okay, but they weren't satisfying."

Answer: To be fair, with the exception of SG-1, they weren't planned as series finale but season finales.  In the case of both SGA and SGU, we thought chances were good that we would be back or, in a worst case scenario, would at least be afforded the opportunity to wrap things up with a movie.

cwillmanbunge also writes: "Sadly to say it would kill me to not even know the single answer to one of these questions."

Answer: Hey, believe me, there are a lot of us who are equally disappointed because we'll never get the opportunity to answer them.  I could certainly provide you with potential ideas or scenarios but, at the end of the day, I'd imagine they'd be equally unsatisfying since they wouldn't be canon.

cwillmangue also writes: "If at all possible, please, do what you can to at least get a movie for Atlantis and Universe."

Answer: Believe me, I'd love nothing more than to see an Atlantis and/or Universe move go into production.  Brad Wright (franchise co-creator and Exec. Producer) pushed hard but, in the end, the final decision lay in the hands of MGM.  At present, it seems unlikely they'll be giving the green-light to any SG-1, SGA, or SGU-related project.

Blake Linton writes: "Netflix is the ONE company with the money to produce more Stargate, the distribution channel to play it, and the built-in ability to precisely measure its success. We must awaken the sleeping giant! With 6.5 MILLION total Netflix ratings averaging 4 out of 5 stars, would it really be so hard to convince them that continuing the Stargate franchise is a fabulous idea?"

Answer: Unfortunately, convincing Netflix is only half the battle.  You would also need to convince MGM.

Randomness writes: "However I do find the whole Self destruct thing a little Deus ex machina, because well it's a random twist that has come out of nowhere with little to no build up to push an event forward."

Answer: I disagree.  It's the move away from Pegasus (something new and unforeseen) that triggers the self-destruct.  Given the way things were going in the war against the wraith, it makes sense that the Ancients would take measures to ensure the city not fall into enemy hands.  Furthermore, we did establish the city's self-destruct system early in the series run.

Trevor writes: "Thank you for all your hard work guys, what a fabulous name! I will inform Holly that Eufemia has won. Or perhaps on second thought, I won't inform her and will just go ahead and fill out the birth certificate first, and then show her afterwards. Yes, I think that will be best."

Answer: If you can hold off on telling her until her birthday, it would make for an awesome surprise.  Just a suggestion.

dodoalda writes: "Any news from Joel Goldsmith regarding the SGU soundtrack?"

Answer: Joel has actually been quite busy, out on the road, doing his own thing.

Samantha Padilla writes: "Hey, if I send you some of the Atlantis story ideas I have taken from when I desperately wanted to join the writing staff only for Syfy to drop the ax on the show and MGM to continue to hack away at it's (still can't believe I'm saying this) corpse, can I take a shot at turning Extinction into a novel? That's if you like my stuff."

Answer: Sorry, Samantha.  I have no influence on who gets hired to write the novels.  Again, those decisions lie in the hands of MGM.

majorsal writes: "anything on sg1′s 'revolution'?"

Answer: Nope.  All quiet on the Stargate front.

dioxholster writes: "Was Todd with them for the ride? why?"

Answer: He was on Atlantis at the end of Enemy at the Gate.  We included a little scene in the Extinction script in which Woolsey and Sheppard go "pick him up", essentially rescuing him from the clutches of government R&D.

Ben writes: "The story arc between 'Faith' and 'Incursion Part 3′, regarding the 'Eden' planet and TJ leaving her daughter there was absolutely incredible-one of the most emotional scenes I've seen on tv, nevermind Stargate alone. Obviously later we found that Destiny was behind her 'OOBE' and those who stayed behind on Eden didn't really survive. The way it was left before we discovered that was brilliant because you truly didn't know what to think (I was thinking while watching how amazing the writing was). Were you at all tempted to leave that arc open ended?"

Answer: We knew we were going to do a story in which we revisited the people we'd left behind on the Faith planet eventually so, when that happened, the truth would be revealed.  I don't think it would have been possible to have kept that particular element open-ended.

Ben also writes: "I'm not into all the legal details, but when a show is cancelled, is it not possible to be picked up by another network?"

Answer: Sure, but it would ultimately fall on the studio to give any such plan the go-ahead.  Are you sensing a trend here?

ruffles writes: "Is it typical for showrunners to also write? If you had to choose between writing and producing, which would you choose?"

Answer: It is typical in television but rare in film where the writer is often at the bottom of the pecking order and usually has nothing to do with his work moving forward once he's completed that final draft.  As for which I would choose, writing or producing – it would depend on what I was writing and producing.

July 16, 2011: More on that Atlantis script!

Today, after waking up, working out, walking the dogs, picking up/dropping off my shirts at the dry cleaners, doing some banking, having an oyster po'boy for lunch, buying something at Futureshop, dropping off Akemi's shoes to be fixed, getting groceries, picking up canned pumpkin for the dogs (it keeps them regular), walking the dogs again, and swinging by the liquor store for some Malibu Rum, Grand Marnier, Captain Morgan, and some Guinness for the next round of truffle-making, all the while pursuing a fruitless attempt to track down a cold can of Chinotto, I had absolutely no time leftover to do much but work on this blog entry and prepare to head out for dinner with Scott Nemes, our new HBO/Cinemax point man.

Many of you have asked me to continue offering some insight into the Atlantis movie (Stargate: Extinction) Paul and I scripted way back when.  Well, attempts to find out if the studio has plans for the script have come up empty.  And so, rather than reveal too much, I will offer a little more in the way of the set-up to the story.  As I already mentioned in a pervious entry, the events of the movie take place soon after (maybe about a week or so) after Atlantis has returned to the Milky Way.  It has been parked on the dark side of the moon, away from prying eyes, and operations continue as busily as they had back in Pegasus.  Things are running smoothly enough until McKay is suddenly made aware that the city's self-destruct has been initiated, the result of being out of range of the Pegasus galaxy for too long…

Of course, it's time to get the band back together and we check in with our various team members as they are called up and beamed away for the return journey: Teyla and her family, Keller, Beckett, Lorne, Zelenka and, of course, Sheppard and Ronon who are plucked away while receiving treatment at a local hospital following a barroom brawl (we went back and incorporated the scar actor Jason Momoa received following an incident near his L.A. home).  Once everyone has assembled, McKay gives them the 411.  Given the time constraints they face, they have to get back to Pegasus as quickly as possible – meaning they'll have to use the wormhole drive again.  Zelenka calculates that two jumps should do it.

And they're off.  Sort of.  The first jump ends up burning out the drive, rendering it useless and leaving them stranded with the countdown click ticking down. However, a scan of the surrounding plants turns up a habitable world within range.  They go there seeking help and, instead, end up involved in a wild time-travel themed adventure in which Todd, the wraith, turns out to be, simultaneously, their hugest threat and biggest ally.

And that's all I'm going to say on the subject for now.  Although it seems increasingly likely this movie will ever get made, I don't want to discount the possibility it may come to fruition through some alternate venue be it a comic book, novel, or radio play.  Fingers crossed!

July 15, 2011: Another location scout for 12 Hours (episode #2, The Transporter)!

Managed to finish up my rewrite of episode #5 in the nick of time this morning, forwarding my draft to Trevor (who, in turn, ensured it was delivered to my writing partner, Paul, on set) and gathering up the necessary documents (drafts and notes) for my next rewrite before joining Director Bruce McDonald and the rest of the gang on another location scout for episode #2, 12 Hours…

Welcome to Geneva!

Tim (or "Time" as I've referred to him on this blog) demonstrates his supermagnetic powers. Unfortunately, there was no actual metal in the vicinity but had there been, this photo would've wowed. Trust me.

Bruce demands perfection. And a cappuccino!

I take a break for a little drinking and dancing. And not necessarily in that order.

The sight of my next chocolate party?

The bathroom is right down those stairs? Uh, I think I'll wait.

Toronto for Marseilles?

Ben oui!

From there it was back to the office where I gathered my things, headed back home for a quick dinner, then onto casting – reviewing auditions for over a dozen roles, then coordinating my selects with Bruce.  Taking the night off to finish reading volume 1 of Astonishing X-Men, reviewing more artwork and tweaking the solicitation text for my upcoming SF  comic book series (Dark Matter), and preparing the numbers for the "next phase".

Tomorrow, I start the rewrite of Paul's rewrite of Carl's rewrite of his own script.  As we head into production, it's no longer a not-so-simple matter of implementing the various notes (four broadcasters + two "producers") but ensuring the scripts board properly (within the number of budgeted shooting days) and come in a little under pattern (to help off-set the costs of the pilot which, as pilots are wont to do, is going to be OVER pattern).  It's a huge juggling act as we try to do this for the first eight scripts we have and beyond (as we come up with a game plan for the back of the season).  Making things easier for us (And by "us", I'm referring to the show runners, those charged with the task of making sure the scripts are great and every aspect of the episodes meets or exceeds all expectations at every level, on time and on budget, regardless of the challenges we may face, under penalty of ritual seppuku – or the show business equivalent. Namely, Paul, Alexander, and myself) are the smart, dedicated, and incredibly talented individuals who head up and operate in the various departments, from costumes to casting, production design to locations, stunts to post-production, and everything in between.  Most of whom you'll be meeting on this blog over the course of the next few months.  A huge thanks to everyone working 24/7 at the production offices and on set!  And a special thanks to Sue, Andy, Stephen, and Chris Vane and the rest of the cast and guest stars who have been nothing short of amazing.

As with any production, once you start rolling, it becomes much easier to identify the obstacles and encumbrances that may slow things down or keep the machine from running as efficiently as possible.  We've already zeroed in on a couple of those hindrances and will soon have them addressed.

And after that, it'll be smooooooth sailing!

July 14, 2011: Congrats to the SGU VFX team on their Emmy nom! Starting prep on episode #2: 12 Hours!

Congratulations to the Stargate: Universe Visual Effects team on their Emmy nomination for their work on season 2′s Awakening!  Specifically, a big "Way to go!" to  Mark Savela, Krista McLean, James Rorick, Craig VandenBiggelaar, Adam de Bosch Kemper, Erica Henderson, Michael Lowes, Wes Sargent, Luke Vallee, Kodie MacKenzie, and the rest of the gang.  Here's a peek at the amazing work they did for the episode:

Although we started prepping episode #2 (12 Hours) a while ago, I'm declaring today the first official day of prep on the episode if only because we had the concept meeting this morning.  Well, late this morning and into early afternoon which, in hindsight, is the way to go because a nice, fast-paced meeting ensures that lunch is eaten at a reasonable hour…

The (soon-to-be) usual suspects gather: our various department heads, Sue, Alexander, Andy, and – our director for this episode, a Canadian icon: Bruce McDonald (Roadkill, Highway 61, Hardcore Logo, Picture Claire, Pontypool).

The lovely and talented Bruce McDonald!

Alexander – oh, so thoughtful! Lookit him think!

Brendan - VFX Supervisor and fellow foodie.

Jamie (VFX)!

Followed the concept meeting with a locations meeting which I followed with a conference call which was followed by a late afternoon spent screening auditions with Bruce.  Pleased to report we are both on the same page when it comes to the selects (always a good thing when you can agree with your director!). Tomorrow, I complete my rewrite of episode #5 and then move on to a rewrite of episode #4 after which I'll do a pass on Alexander's rewrite of episode #7 after which I'll do my next pass on episode #6 and follow that with (what I hope will be) a final pass on episode #2 and then move on to my revision of episode #3 which I'll follow with a trip to the local asylum where they should have a padded room booked well in advance of my arrival.  Alexander, meanwhile, is moving off his rewrite of episode #7 to start his script of episode #8 – provided he can find them time between those lengthy phone calls and email exchanges with Europe, the last one of which forced him to cancel taking in the Lynyrd Skynyrd concert he'd been so looking forward to.  As for Paul – he's equally busy on set, producing the pilot.  The dailies look great!  Looking forward to catching the specatcular premiere in the comfort of my own home theater back in Vancouver early next year!

Finally, to those of you who commented on Akemi's panties featured in yesterday's blog (shame on you!), she wants you to know that they're the work of designer Tsumori Chisato and that you can pick up your own pair of panties (or equally colorful garb) here: http://www.tsumorichisato.com/en/

July 13, 2011: Akemi's panties! Trevor's baby's name! Car Stunt Maestro Michel Julienne!

Okay.  As promised the other day, here is a peek at Akemi's new panties.  The pattern resembles what I'd imagine a drug addict would hallucinate during a bad trip: mushrooms, insects, snakes, and clouds, furry fearsomes, flying tweens, and sackfuls of love.

Well, the votes have been tabulated in the Name Trevor's Baby contest and we have a winner!  The results…

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Coming in at #5: Oprah.  Sadly, my favorite was never really in contention and finished a distant last.

At #4: Muff.  I know, I know.  Many of you thought it was a horrible name, especially for a girl – but when you consider Trevor's last name is Finn, it was, in hindsight, quite appropos.

In the #3 spot: Trouble.  I would have gone with this one for the occasional opportunity to shout "Here comes Trouble!" in advance of the kid's appearance – everywhere!

At #2: Spearmint.  Damn!  This one was mine.  I wouldn't be surprised if Gwyneth Paltrow steals it for the name of her next child.

And our winner……

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#1: Eufemia!  I was all on board when I was under the assumption this was a disease but, apparently, it's just a name.  A really silly name.  Oh well.

Eufemia Finn it is!  Now, all Trevor has to do is break the news to his wife!

Yesterday, I got to meet a legend – the Car Stunt Maestro himself – Michel Julienne…

Holy Smokes!  What a nice, soft-spoken, good-humored fellow.  Really looking forward to working with him.

Speaking of work – I apologize these blog entries haven't been as involved as usual, but I've been up to my eyeballs in most every aspect of prep and production on our new series, The Transporter.  Worked on the rewrite of episode #5, re-read and provided input on episode #4, had an advance visual effects meeting for episode #2 (12 Hours), fielded about three dozen emails, and checked out and made my selections on the first wave of auditions for 12 Hours.  Going to take a break to walk the dogs and then I'm back at it.  If it wasn't for the need to eat, sleep, walk the dogs, and pay some attention to an increasingly isolated and lonely girlfriend, I'd be on this 24/7.  

July 12, 2011: And we're off!

Today, I had a discussion about the casting of a minor recurring character.

An ALL DAY DISCUSSION!

At one point, I considered making an executive decision to rewrite the role for my dog Maximus (see his head shot in my blog banner).  In the end, however, I opted to table the discussion to focus on other pressing matters like that rewrite of episode #2 ("12 Hours") and, of course, lunch -

A rare behind-the-scenes pic of yours truly – in this case, enjoying our catered Mexican lunch.  Look at how I'm savoring that refried bean wrap!

Later in the afternoon, I swung by set to check out the first day of production on the pilot, getting there just in time to catch our Frieder doing his nefarious strut. He is PERFECT (ly diabolical)!  I hung around until Andy Mikita chased me – and a pack of pesky pigeons – away…

 Okay, one more.  This time smiling…

Better!

Check out the dogs!

July 11, 2011: The storm before the storm!

Okay.  I think I'm just going to open up a little comic book and genre book shop in Vancouver.

Sometime in 2012.

Maybe sooner.

Hey, check it out.  Look at what Akemi made Alexander.  He was, of course, thrilled.

As were my co-workers because, as planned, I brought in my homemade truffles this morning.

Talk about karma.  No sooner did I drop off the chocolates in the kitchen than I ran into Mega who had a treat for me.  Macarons!

No calm before the storm.  Actually a completely different storm before the storm.  Tomorrow, we start shooting the pilot.  Today, we discussed costumes, tone meetings, production strategy, script revisions, timings, boards, character backstories, arcs, and the perils of shoe buckles.  We also found time to pay a little visit to set…

Time Bider, Master of Ceremonies

The BIG stage

Frank's pool

Future car exteriors

I got home for 7:30, had to deal with the outstanding issues that followed me home, ate, then spent two hours writing an email.

Let's end today's entry on a high note – Akemi in the new apron her mom sent her from Japan.

Tomorrow, we check out her new panties.

July 10, 2011: Truffles or script rewrites. It's your call!

Since I spent a significant part of my Saturday doing a pass on episode #2 and writing up the one-page overview for episode #10, I decided to kick back on Sunday by switching gears and starting the rewrite of episode #5.  I know, I know.  What the hell am I doing working through the weekend?  Well, besides the fact that it's crunch time and – apparently – these scripts aren't going to rewrite and prep themselves, the truth is it's next to impossible to get any writing done at the office. There are just so many distractions to contend with that it's near impossible to get on a roll.

Anyway, as much as I hate rewriting my own stuff (Not because I'm precious, mind you, but because I spend so much time and effort constructing a scene, establishing a natural dramatic progression and rhythm for the dialogue, that changing what's there is like trying to remove one of the lower blocks in a game of Jenga.  A single seemingly inconsequential shift is enough to bring down the entire structure.), I REALLY hate rewriting Paul because his scripts are exceptionally tight.  Tweaks you figure should take you two or three hours tops become grueling two to three day marathon sessions.

I made it as far as the end of the second act before running out of steam.  At which point I realized my talking about working through the weekend would make for a mighty uninteresting blog post – so I took Akemi up on her suggestion and make truffles.

Milk-chocolate rum pistachio-studded truffles.

As impressive as it may sound, the truth is making truffles is actually quite easy.  Chopped up about 225 grams of chocolate.  Heat up a 1/2 cup of heavy cream, then pour of the chocolate, whisking it to a silky smoothness.

Some recipes call for butter, but I don't bother.  Add liquor, if you're so inclined, then pop in the refrigerator for a few hours and allow it to firm up.

Chicory dark chocolate cocoa nib-studded truffles dusted with powdered sugar.

Once the two hours are up, take your chocolate out of the refrigerator, let rest for five minutes, then start rolling.  Akemi prefers the double spoon method she perfected while working at the Pierre Marcolini Cafe in Ginza…

 Once those truffles are rolled, give them a second roll in a coating of your choosing.  In the past, I've used everything from cocoa powder to toasted coconut.

Akemi's white chocolate-marscapone cocoa powder-dusted truffles.

Pop them in the refrigerator, allow them to cool for another hour and – voila!  Serve as dessert.  Or, if you're feeling generous, bring them into work on Monday and treat your friends.  Tell them "I've done you a favor.  Next time, it'll be your turn to do ME a favor."  Later that week when you're looking at a full day of prep meetings, guess who's sitting in for you?

Akemi's Earl Grey milk chocolate tatami truffles.

Akemi's black and white chocolate.

 So who's gonna sit in on this Tuesday's visual effects meeting for me?

Oops! Almost forgot. Dark chocolate Guinness truffles!